A River Is Flowing
by Cyberweasel89
Summary: A friend’s death had left Ichigo empty. An emptiness that nothing could fill. The only thing that could ease his pain was to be alone in the darkness. But the dead have a way of popping up when you least want to think of them... IchiHime RenRuki IshiNemu
1. Prologue: Elegy of Emptiness

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach. Bleach is owned by Tite Kubo.

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Summary: A friend's death had left Ichigo empty. An emptiness that nothing could fill. The only thing that could ease his pain was to be alone in the darkness. But the dead have a way of popping up when you least want to think of them... IchiHime RenRuki IshiNemu

Rater for a tasteful, artful Lemon later.

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Main Pairings:

Ichigo x Orihime

Rukia x Renji

Uryu x Nemu

Toushirou x Momo

Rangiku x Izuru

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Bleach – A River Is Flowing

By Cyberweasel89

Prologue: Elegy of Emptiness

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"No!"

That was the one word on Ichigo's mind. As the rain fell down, every droplet seemed to fall in slow motion, while at the same time pounding down like a bullet. The orange-haired Shinigami ran to the bloodied body of his fallen friend. As he scooped her up in his arms, he pressed his ear to her bare chest, succeeding in getting blood on the side of his head in the process. There was a heartbeat, but just barely.

"Hey! Wake up! Can ya hear me?"

Her eyelids were half closed. A gurgle came from her slightly opened mouth. Her naked body was shivering in the cold downpour, so she probably had enough feeling left in her body to feel the cold.

"Hey! Hang in there! I'll get us out of here!"

Easier said than done. Now that the adrenaline from the battle was wearing off, Ichigo could barely move. He definitely couldn't stand. Only his sheer will kept him from collapsing over the body of his friend. As he attempted to stand up anyway, he felt cold skin touch his hand. The orange-haired Shinigami looked to see her gazing up at him with empty eyes, her fingers lightly grabbing his wrist. Her skin... it felt ice cold. The bleeding didn't look like it was stopping anytime soon. And the wound... it looked painful...

"C'mon! You can pull through!"

"Kurosaki-kun..."

The orange-haired Shinigami barely heard the throaty, pained rasp that escaped his friend's pale lips. He leaned in and strained his ears to listen.

"Kurosaki-kun... I want you to-"

"No! Don't speak! You need to save your strength!"

"No... Kurosaki-kun... I want you... I want you to know..."

"I said don't speak!"

"I want you to know... to know..."

Then her arm fell limp.

"No! Wake up! C'mon, wake up!"

But she didn't reply. Her body seemed lifeless.

"No... INOUE!!!"

The cry echoed far, having enough volume and filled with enough pain to travel onward for eternity.

"Ichigo!"

The orange-haired Shinigami turned to see Rukia, Chad, Uryu and the others running to him. They all looked injured. Renji was visibly trying to conceal a limp. They ran forward and gathered around Ichigo and the fallen princess. None of them stopped to blush at her nudity. Their concern was too great. Rukia knelt down to feel the girl's pulse... When she stood up, she gazed downward, shaking her head forlornly. Ichigo gazed down at his friend and knew she was gone, but didn't believe it. He couldn't believe it.

"No! It can't end like this! It just can't!"

Rukia placed a hand on the orange-haired Shinigami's shoulder. "Look, Ichigo, we need to get her back hom-"

He shook her touch off. "No! She'll be fine! Right? She'll be fine!"

Nothing but silence... silence that did nothing to halt the seed of emptiness that had already begun to grow within Ichigo's soul.

"INOUE!!!"

- - - - - - - - - -

The funeral was held several weeks later. The entire time leading up to it, Ichigo tried to hide his pain. Rukia tried to cheer him up by staying with him again, like old times. But even she could feel the oppressive gloom looming over him like the Reaper over a man on his deathbed.

The day of the funeral, the sky was gray and cloudy, but it did not rain. Despite the forecast calling for rain, and despite the heavy feeling in the air, it did not rain. And as the dirge played in everyone's heads and the meaningful words were spoken, everyone cried. Except Ichigo. He didn't show that day. And for the week that followed, no one saw him at school, either. Rukia knew that he felt it was his fault. His fault that he couldn't protect her. But even that was not enough to make him cry. He had promised to protect her, to protect all of his special people, but he felt he had failed. He had failed the one thing he felt born on this planet to do. He was broken. And with this brokenness came a void that nothing could feel. An emptiness that could only be eased by the darkness.

- - - - - - - - - -

"Ichigo? Are you ready to come out yet?"

Silence...

"Okay, fine. We'll give you another day. But at least come down for dinner in a bit."

Silence was just half of what helped ease his emptiness. The other half was darkness. As he lay on his bed, dressed but with nowhere to go, the dreary darkness of his room eased his heavy heart. He had failed. He had let someone who he was supposed to protect... die...

The day of Orihime's funeral, Ichigo did not attend. The entire day he spent in the darkness and relative silence of his room. But even though he was not there, he could have sworn he heard a song playing in his head. An elegy. An elegy for a lost friend. But the elegy did nothing to ease his emptiness...

More pounding on his door. "Ichigo! At least take a shower! We don't want you to stink when you finally decide to come out!"

Sighing, the orange-haired Shinigami got up and headed into his bathroom.

- - - - - - - - - -

The river pounding down on him from his showerhead reminded him of the rain that fell that day... the rain was like a flowing river. And this water pounding him was like a river as well. But this river was warm, compared to the ice cold river from that day. Well, it was supposed to be warm. It felt warm to his skin, but it felt numbingly cold to his empty soul...

So many things had happened... Tilting his head upwards at the showerhead with his eyes closed, Ichigo couldn't help but think about all he had accomplished. Aizen and his army were gone. But that victory felt worthless after so many had been lost. Without Orihime, he could not have won the battle with Aizen. Had she not gotten involved, he surely would have lost. But in the process...

The orange-haired Shinigami turned around to reach for the bottle of shampoo, but felt something soft instead. It felt like human skin... Opening his eyes, Ichigo felt his blood run cold. Staring at him, face to face, dripping wet and completely naked, was...

"Inoue?!"

"Hi, Kurosaki-kun!"

The cheery greeting caught him off guard. But as his eyes roamed down her dripping wet, nude body, he caught sight of the Chain of Fate protruding out from between her ample bosom. The chain fell down to the floor of the shower, where it was neatly coiled, before trailing up and ending at his own body. It came to about his chest before it vanished, hanging in the air just short of touching his skin. The orange-haired Shinigami grabbed at the chain, looked back to the naked girl in his shower... then stumbled backwards so abruptly that he banged into the wall of his shower and tripped, falling to the ground at Orihime's bare feet.

"Kurosaki-kun! Are you okay? That didn't hurt, did it?" she asked, bending over to stare at him, resulting in a rather interesting hanging effect on her anatomy.

"Inoue?! What the hell are you doing here?" he stammered from his position on the floor, a deep blush across his face.

The girl looked pensive. "Um... I don't know!" she concluded.

"Just... Just... Get out of the shower and give me some privacy!"

"Oh! I forgot. Boys and girls aren't supposed to be in the bathroom together..."

"That's not it, just... get out!"

"Right!"

She stepped out through the shower curtain, the chain dragging behind her. The orange-haired Shinigami stood and rubbed his head, wondering just what in hell's name was happening.

But Kurosaki Ichigo and Inoue Orihime would find out that the Chain of Fate linking their two bodies not only bound them together, but also bound their destinies in an endless torrent of fated events. Much like the rain that day, and much like the falling water of the shower...

A river...

Is flowing...

End Prologue


	2. Chapter 1: Naked

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach. Bleach is owned by Tite Kubo. I am writing this story as a fan-made work purely for the entertainment of myself and purely for the entertainment of anyone who reads it.

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Bleach - A River Is Flowing

By Cyberweasel89

Chapter 1: Naked

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Click clack. Click clack. Click clack. Click clack.

Hmmm... Ichigo had been pacing for a long time now. Every once in a while he would turn to look at Orihime, sitting on his bed and smiling. But then he would blush and look back down at the ground.

Click clack. Click clack. Click clack. Click clack.

It was kind of funny. Orihime wondered if he would dig out a trench with his feet by pacing over the same line again and again and again.

Click clack. Click clack. Click clack. Click clack.

And the chain connecting them kept making this funny clicking sound whenever the orange-haired Shinigami paced. The longer it went on, the more Orihime found it amusing. And the more amusing she found it, the bigger her smile got.

Click clack. Click clack. Click clack. Click clack.

The girl suppressed a giggle. That scowl on his face was getting too much to bear.

Click clack. Click clack. Click clack. Click clack.

Orhime burst out laughing. It was a joyful laughter, but Ichigo seemed frustrated. "Would you stop? This is serious!"

The girl gave a sniffle and sat up straight once more. She giggled one more time before resuming her still sitting position on the orange-haired Shinigami's bed. "But Kurosakik-kun! You pacing like that is just too funny!"

"How can you laugh? Don't you realize that you're dead?"

"Dead? Are you sure? But I feel perfectly fine..."

"Of course you're dead! You have a Chain of Fate in your chest."

The girl parted her breasts to look at the chain set between them. Ichigo blushed and turned around, pinching his nose.

"Huh, you're right, Kurosaki-kun. I guess I'm dead, aren't I?"

"Don't you mind?"

"Mind what?"

"That you're dead!"

The girl looked thoughtful. "Um... No. Should I?"

The orange-haired Shinigami tugged at his hair in frustration. "Yes! And don't you care that you're chain is connected to me?!"

"Um... No... Why?"

"Because as long as your chain connects you to me, you won't be able to go anywhere without me! Don't you think you'd get sick of me?!"

Orihime just smiled. "But I like being with you, Kurosaki-kun. I don't mind spending time with you."

Ichigo let his arms drop in defeat. He resumed pacing, while the girl continued to sit on the orange-haired Shinigami's bed and smile. After a few moments, Ichigo stopped. He turned to look at Orihime to speak, but then blushed and turned the other way.

"Next of all, you're naked!"

Orihime tilted her head quizzically. She looked down at her bare body, then back up at Ichigo. "Huh. I guess I am, aren't I?"

"But why are you naked?!"

Orhime looked pensive for a moment. Then she raised a hand as an idea struck her. "Oh! Probably because I was naked when I died! All of the ghosts you helped before you met Kuchiki-san were dressed in the dirty clothes they died in, right?"

Ichigo turned around to stare at the girl in disbelief, but then blushed and turned back the other way. "But don't you care?!"

"Care about what?"

"That you're naked!"

"Um... Should I?"

"Yes!!!"

The girl looked pensive for another moment. But then she gave a start, as if realization hit her like a brick. "Oh!" She folded her arms over her chest in an attempt to cover them. "I forgot! Boys and girls aren't supposed to change clothes in front of each other."

Ichigo gave a growl of frustration. "That's not it!"

She lowered her arms back to her sides. "Then what is it?"

"You're naked!"

"Yeah?"

"So put some clothes on!"

"Kurosaki-kun! We tried that. I can't interact with anything. Things just pass right through me."

"Then how come I can touch you?"

Orihime looked thoughtful. "Yeah, that is kind of strange."

After a while of frantically pacing back and forth a few steps and rearranging the position of his arms in several poses, the orange-haired Shinigami let his shoulders drop in defeat. He walked over to his bed and sat down next to his fallen friend.

"So... You died. You became a Plus. Your chain is attached to me. You weren't wearing any clothes when you died so you're not wearing any clothes now. You can't interact with anything in the environment except for sitting and lying on things, so you're stuck not wearing clothes."

Orihime nodded. "That sounds about right."

Ichigo stood up and took to pacing the room again. "But for some reason, even though you can't interact with or touch anything in the environment, you can still touch me and I can still touch you. But why is that?"

Orihime shrugged. "Beats me."

Ichigo sighed. "Whatever. I'm tired. Let's just go to bed."

The orange-haired Shinigami walked over to his closet and pulled it open.

"Kurosak-kun? What are you doing?" the girl asked.

"You're technically my guest, Inoue. You can have my bed tonight. I'll sleep in the closet."

"But Kurosaki-kun! That's not fair for me to take your bed."

"No, it's fine. The closet is still set up for sleeping from when I had Rukia stay here."

"But Kurosaki-kun..."

"Good night."

The closet door slid shut, the chain connecting them passing right through the door. Orihime sat still for a moment in the silence and darkness of the room. After a moment, the girl stretched out on the bed, turning to lay on her side.

"Good night... Kurosaki-kun..." she whispered.

- - - - - - - - - -

Odd... She was dead, wasn't she? Yet she could still sleep. And it was evident that she was dreaming right now. She was standing in a dark abyss, cold air nipping at the exposed skin of her bare body. The chain set into her chest was hanging downward, then stretching along the floor of the darkness to where it was set into a round metal pedestal on the ground. Wherever she was, it looked like she was tethered to this spot.

So she was dead... but she could still sleep and dream as if she were alive... she couldn't touch anything physical around her... except Ichigo. For some reason, the girl knew there was a mystery of some sort here. On the surface, Orihime had just died and her spirit became attached to the orange-haired Shinigami because of her feelings towards him. But the girl had a feeling deep down. This feeling was even stronger in this dream abyss. She knew there was something beneath the skin of this, and she knew that the key was right under their noses. She just couldn't figure out where the keyhole was... Oh, if only she were smarter!

- - - - - - - - - -

The birds chirping awakened the girl from her sleep. As she inhaled deeply, her nose was filled with the scent from Ichigo's pillow. A sweet smell... Strawberries? Did Ichigo really smell like strawberries? Or was she just imagining it because of his name?

Hang on, how come-

Orihime's thoughts were interrupted by the door slamming open. The hardheaded girl shot up to see a small girl with neck-length black hair standing there. The girl eyed Orihime wearily, then sent her a glare. But then her features rose into a smirk.

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"So Ichigo finally got laid, huh?"

Orihime tilted her head in perplexion. But then she must have realized the meaning behind the girl's words and gave a start so violent she fell off the bed.

Karin's smirk grew larger. "Don't worry, I won't tell Dad or Yuzu about this. I'm just surprised Ichigo managed to bag someone like you. I had no idea he was into huge-"

"That's not it!"

"Huh?"

The girl rose from the floor, shakily getting to her feet.

"I'm... I'm one of Ichigo's friends from school!"

Karin stood in silence for a moment before smirking once again. "Heh. Friends with benefits, eh?"

"No! That's not it, either!"

"Look, I can understand. Ichigo's a young, fertile male. I'm surprised he hasn't brought home a girl alrea-"

"No! I'm a friend of Ichigo's! I died! I'm attached to him through a chain!"

A loud snort was heard from the closet. Karin gave a glance to the closet, then turned her gaze downward to look at the long chain trailing from the girl to the closet. The blush on the Orihime's face confirmed it.

"Easy, there. I know you're a ghost. I saw the chain the moment I walked in. Luckily you managed to confirm why you're chain is attached to my brother."

The girl's head tilted in confusion. Oh, yeah. Karin's having fun with this one.

"And don't worry. I know who you are. You're Orihime. You've got a crush on Ichigo, don't you?"

The shocked and deep red face of the girl was enough to satisfy any amount of sadism in Karin's body and then some. And it was all the more sweet when she squeaked out a "Yes..."

"Good. Now that we've got that out of the way. Why the hell are you naked?"

"I was naked when I died. So-"

"Got it. I don't need any more. I can infer the rest, and how you died is none of my business."

There was a bang on the closet door. The door was slid open as Ichigo fell out of it head-first, in a half-asleep daze. The orange-haired Shinigami lifted his head from the floor and gazed around through half-closed eyes. When his gaze turned to Karin and Orihime, he blinked a few times. There was a long awkward pause... Then the orange-haired Shinigami must have come to his senses. He pointed a finger at his sister and screamed.

"K-Karin! This... This isn't what it looks like!"

"I think it's exactly what it looks like. You hired a prostitute."

Karin smirked as her brother's brain looked to have exploded. She loved going straight for the throat. When he recovered, he jumped to his feet and pointed at the girl he was chained to.

"I can explain! That's Orihime! She died! She's attached to me with a Chain of-"

"Easy there, Ichigo. I know." Her face rose into a smirk. "I was just messing with you."

The smirk grew when the orange-haired Shinigami began sputtering instead of responding.

"I'll just take my leave now. Breakfast is on the table, Ichigo. Whether you hide her or admit what's going on to dad and Yuzu is entirely up to you. I can keep a secret. For a price."

She closed the door on her way out, the biggest smirk anyone had ever seen on her face.

Orihime turned to the heavy-breathing Ichigo beside her. "So that was your sister? She seems nice."

The orange-haired Shinigami turned to his fallen friend, desperately searched for a sarcastic comeback, but found nothing. Instead he just fell back onto his bed, sighing. Orihime stepped up to the bed and leaned over him, gazing down at his weary-looking face.

"Somethin' wrong, Ichigo?" she asked with genuine innocence.

The orange-haired Shinigami sighed. "Of course something's wrong. How am I gonna explain you to Dad and Yuzu?" His eyes drifted downward on their own, and he began flailing wildly and scrambling to sit upright, pinching his nose. "And don't lean over me like that, Orihime!"

One could almost see the cartoonish question mark appear above the girl's head, with the accompanying sound effect.

- - - - - - - - - -

Orihime followed the orange-haired Shinigami down the stairs. He seemed really worried a minute ago, but now his face was back to that funny scowl and disinterested look in his eyes. She wondered if he had a plan. Maybe he planned to paint her the color of the wall and have her blend in! Like one of those chamomile-yon lizard things she read about in Biology! Or maybe he planned to wear a big coat and hide her in it! Then she could tell him what to say to the girl he liked like in one of those romantic comedies!

"SON!!!"

The girl was surprised to see a man who must have been Ichigo's father lunge at him. But Ichigo just raised his fist and the man's face made a collision with it. He instantly fell to the floor.

"Wow! How did you know he was coming, Ichigo?"

The orange-haired Shinigami just shrugged. "I'm used to it." He said dismissively.

Kurosaki Isshin stood up, a hand to his chin in his best cool-guy pose. "Ah-ha! On top of things as always, Ichigo! Now come to breakfast. Yuzu worked hard on it."

Ichigo just grunted and followed his father to the table. Orihime wondered why his father didn't react to her.

As they reached the table, Karin sent Ichigo and her a knowing smirk. After a gesture to another girl who looked the same age as her, the other girl pointed at Ichigo in a sudden motion.

"Hey! Ichigo! You've got another ghost following you!"

What? No remarks on her appearance?

"Really? Nice eye, Yuzu!" Ichigo's father praised.

Could Ichigo's father not see spirits like his son and other daughter?

"Yeah, I noticed. Yuzu, dad, this is Orihime from school. She died... uh... from her microwave exploding. Yeah. Tried to put something metal in it. Ended up blowin' up in her face."

Isshin glared at his daughters. "Never put metal in the microwave!" They only responded by rolling their eyes.

"Well, I'm sure she won't mind joining us for breakfast, will she?" Yuzu suggested with a warm smile.

"Yeah, sounds good." Ichigo concluded.

Orihime tried to work through what was going on. So Ichigo's dad couldn't see spirits... But what about little Yuzu? She looked like she could see her, but didn't really react to her appearance. Not like Karin did... Maybe she didn't have the same amount of awareness that Ichigo and his sister Karin did.

The girl backed up to the wall to watch the family eat breakfast. They seemed like a happy family... It reminded her of when she lived with her brother Sora. Sora would protect her, just like Ichigo protected his sisters and father.

With breakfast done, Ichigo told his family he was going out.

"Be sure to bring an umbrella, Ichigo!" Yuzu called out as he was heading for the door. "The weather forecast said it would be raining all day!"

- - - - - - - - - -

As Ichigo reached the door, Orihime tapped him on the shoulder. "Aren't you going to grab an umbrella like Yuzu said?"

The orange-haired Shinigami just grunted. "I'm not afraid of a little rain. Besides, I'm dressed for the weather."

The girl glanced down at his clothing to see that he was dressed in sneakers, worn blue jeans, and a dark green hoodie that said something in English that she wasn't able to translate with her knowledge of the language. She leaned forward to put her face right in front of the orange-haired Shinigami's chest.

"z... O... M..."

"z-O-M-G." Ichigo clarified.

"I haven't learned that word in class. What's it mean?"

"It's not a word. It's a term used on the Internet in America. It means Zoh My God. Hence z-O-M-G."

"But why is it on your hoodie?"

"Beats me. Karin gave it to me. Apparently it's from some sort of internet game she plays, or something. She won it in some sort of contest the game held, but it wouldn't fit her, so she gave it to me to keep until she got big enough to wear it."

"I see... That's really nice of you, Ichigo."

A very light blush crept onto the orange-haired Shinigami's face. "Yeah, whatever. Let's go."

And just before Ichigo stepped out, he grabbed an umbrella from the rack next to the door.

- - - - - - - - - -

The rain was really coming down. It was as if the heavens had left the shower running, or something. Oddly enough, the rain was pelting her skin, even though she was dead. That was weird... She couldn't touch anything around her except Ichigo, yet rain could still hit her body? It felt cold... Ichigo must have noticed her shivering, because he opened the umbrella and held it above her.

"Th-thanks, Ichigo..."

"No problem." the orange-haired Shinigami responded.

"But what about you? Won't you get rained on?"

Ichigo only responded by lifting up the hood of his hoodie and tightening the strings.

"Say, how come you're not in your school uniform, Ichigo?"

"It's Saturday."

"Oh. Sorry..."

"It's okay. You had no way of knowing."

As the two walked down the street, they must have looked unusual. Ichigo was holding the umbrella above what looked to most like nothing at all. Orihime felt safe walking next to the orange-haired Shinigami, like he would protect her. But despite this, she couldn't help but feel like they were being watched... Watched by something hidden in the shadows. Ichigo must have noticed her nervousness.

"Something wrong?"

"No. I'm fine, Ichigo."

She was wet from being caught in the rain when they first left Ichigo's house. The droplets of water were trailing down her body like a slowly moving body of water. A flowing river. Yeah. That was it.

A river...

Is flowing...


End file.
